The current debate about rich and poor — the 1 percent versus the 99 percent — is a bit misleading because the evidence usually is data about income, not wealth. Looking at wealth would make the comparison even starker.

There are some nice deals to be had in the income tax code these days, but

Compensation for chief executives at American companies grew 15 percentin 2011 after a 28 percent rise in 2010, part of a larger trend that has seen CEO pay skyrocket over the last three decades. Workers, on the other hand, have been left behind.

Women scream in pain and have their eyes flushed with water after they were sprayed with pepper spray by police on 12th Street near Union Square. Dozens were arrested after a march from the Occupy Wall Street encampment in lower Manhattan. Many of those arrested were trapped in police netting.